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MONTREAL – With its dark gray skin and prominent defenses, the young narwhal stands out from the cohort of snowy white belugas that he joined in the St. Lawrence River, about 1,000 kilometers from his home.
But against all odds, the capricious Arctic mammal seems to have become a full member of the group, serving as an example of the complex social connections that animals can create, according to the scientific director of a whale research group.
Robert Michaud stated that the narwhal was discovered in 2016 by swimming with a group of juvenile belugas in the river, well south of its usual Arctic range.
Images of drones captured by Michaud's group at the beginning of the summer confirmed that the narwhal was still in the same group and that he had apparently become "one of the boys", as Michaud says.
He stated that the games and interactions between narwhals and belugas were indistinguishable from those between the other groups, suggesting that the newcomer had been fully accepted by his companions.
"This young narwhal interacts with belugas as if it were another beluga swimming with belugas," said Michaud, scientific director of the Research and Education Group on Beluga Whales. marine mammals in Tadoussac, Quebec.
Interspecific friendship is rare but not surprising, since both species are closely related and have similar habits, said Michaud.
They have similar sizes, have a similar life span, and both live in large, complex family groups.
Michaud believes that belugas may have saved the life of narwhals, as many lost animals end up near boats or humans, increasing the risk of accidents.
"Wandering belugas, isolated from their populations, from social groups such as these, often end their lives alone and have dramatic consequences because they seek interaction," he said. .
"This little narwhal is lucky because he has found friends."
Marianne Marcoux, Marine Mammal Researcher at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said that the narwhal found in the St. Lawrence is "south" of its range and has just been lost.
But even in the Arctic, where they occasionally cross, groups of narwhals and belugas usually stay with their families.
She saw only one example of a beluga swimming with a large group of narwhals, but she did not know if the animal had joined the group or was just passing by.
But Marcoux says that narwhals are very social animals that show preference for some of their companions over others, so she did not surprise the wandering whale to make "friends".
"They have to create associations to survive in this environment, so they have to cooperate with each other, so if you want, you can call it (friendship) … but I prefer to call it social relations," he said. she said. a telephone interview.
For Michaud, the interactions are another proof that the whales present social behaviors much more complex than previously thought.
He said researchers have recently discovered that the beluga is one of the few menopausal species in the world – or ceasing to reproduce before the end of their lives – that it interprets as a sign that older generations remain with their pods. generations.
Regarding the young narwhal, Michaud said he appeared to be in good health and the researchers are curious to see if he mated with a beluga in a few years to create a hybrid narwhal-beluga hybrid, observed in the skeletons but never studied. wild.
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